Hey! I m here with Chapter two and I am so happy to see that some of you really like this idea of mine. A big thanks to IsdR2017 and King Needlemouse for your reviews. To answer Needlemouse's question, yes this will be basically a bunch of one shots but the story will also have an overarching plot. The whole thing is basically following Shadow as he goes through the facility and tries to move on from his traumatic past while also helping others with theirs.
Now I hope you all enjoy this new chapter and I'll see you all next time. Until then, Ethan out!
Classes weren't as terrible as Shadow first thought they would be. By far his favorite was English where they were studying a book called the Crucible. He liked his teacher was well, a young human girl called Hope Kintobor who while young was still able to keep the class in line. He ignored the part of his brain that hissed at him that the reason he liked her so much was her close resemblance to Maria.
Shadow was also surprised that he'd actually made friends with the other teens. He spoke with Mighty and Ray a lot during the evenings as well as Knuckles and Tails. He was still wary about the fox kit, wondering if he still had the urge to blow up schooling facilities but he seemed like a pretty gentle sort of soul so Shadow decided to give him the benefit of the doubt. He had also grown close with Rouge and Blaze. Silver was there too, mostly clinging to Blaze and mumbling under his breath but Shadow found he didn't really mind the other's presence either. He still avoided Scourge and Roey like the plague because since coming to Emerald Institute they had either caused a scene at dinner three times and had caused their Math class to evacuate when Scourge somehow acquired a knife and attacked their teacher.
Right now Shadow was lying sprawled across one of the soft couches in the common room while Knuckles and Tails played a video game of some description. Mighty was sadly spending the night in the medical wing after suffering a massive mental breakdown in the middle of history and Ray had locked himself in his room as a result. Vector and Espio were also there, the crocodile with his eyes closed as the loud music washed over him while Espio sat meditating on the floor. Apparently, his therapist said it would help if he cleared his mind before going to bed. The ebony hedgehog had also been told to start meditating before bed but had yet to partake in the exercise.
Shadow sighed, wondering if he'd still be able to escape this hell hole when a sudden weight rolled over him and onto the floor. The teen gave a startled yelp, sitting up and looking down at the floor where a slightly smaller blue hedgehog sat giggling softly while a massive Irish Wolfhound materialized beside them.
"The hell do you think you're doing?" Shadow snapped. He expected the kid to flinch away from him like everyone else did when he sounded angry. Instead, the kid gave him a vicious smile before reaching out to grab his hand which sent bolts of electrical shocks up his arm. Shadow shouted, yanking his arm away while the younger boy tumbled backward in silent laughter. Ebony snarled wanting nothing more than to reach out and strangle the other but a low growl from the hulking dog that loomed over the other made him rethink his options.
"Sonic, what have you gone and done now?" Knuckles shouted. It seemed all the noise had gained the attention of the other boys much to Shadow's annoyance. The ruby red echidna was glaring at the fifteen-year-old blue hedgehog who just huffed back. "Have you been ripping apart the computer labs again to make inventions?"
Sonic smiled, full and bright before lifting his right hand allowing Knuckles and Shadow to see the little contraption attached to the glove with a small pad at the center that was still sparking a little. Shadow wanted to be angry at the other, wanted to be angry at the unprovoked attack, but he couldn't help but be impressed that Blue had made the little device from a few scrap parts and stolen items.
"What all the yelling about in here for?" The voice made Sonic cringe while Shadow rolled his eyes. Manic stood in the doorway, drumsticks held loosely in one hand while the other was placed on his hip. The night nurse/shrink only had to take one look at Shadow's slightly burnt glove and the sparking device on Sonic's hand to understand the situation. The green hedgehog scowled, stepping forward and not even blinking when the large dog by Sonic's side growled.
"Come on then little dude. Sonia and Sally will need to hear about this." Manic sighed. Sonic puffed out his cheeks, hands suddenly moving about in intricate ways that baffled Shadow yet seemed to make perfect sense to Manic who gave a tight lipped smile.
"Sorry buddy but its gotta be done. Maybe if you stopped trying to wreck havoc then you wouldn't have to make these trips?" Manic suggested which just earned him a small scowl from the green-eyed teen. The group of three quickly left the room, heading down to reception where either Sally or Sonia would be on duty for the night shift. Shadow watched them go, a deep frown set on his face while the pain in his hand slowly ebbed away. Knuckles, who had stepped back once Manic had shown up looked him over critically before smiling softly.
"Don't think too hard on it. Sonic does that to all the students and teachers. It's nothing personal." He muttered.
"I don't care if he does it to everyone. I don't appreciate being suddenly attacked for no reason." Shadow growled while his ears flattened against his skull. To his surprise, Knuckles and Tails who had wandered over during the discussion laughed. "What?"
"You may not see the reason but to Sonic there is a perfectly good reason for why he did what he did." Tails smiled.
Ebony blinked for a few seconds before scowling. "That makes no sense."
"Maybe to you. Sonic has a certain way of seeing the world. You'll learn it eventually but until then try not to take things too hard unless you want Chaos on your back." Tails cautioned.
"Who?"
"Chaos, his therapy dog." Knuckles supplied.
Now that had Shadow cracking a small smile. "Of course the dog's name is Chaos."
Chaos it seems was very gentle when Sonic was in a relaxed mood and not in any danger. The great hulking dog seemed to have taken a shine to Shadow much to the older hedgehog's confusion and Sonic's curiosity. Because of this Shadow found himself spending more and more time with the somewhat troubled teen who delighted in causing all manner of mischief. His latest escapade had been setting off all the sprinklers throughout the buildings except in the dorms. Shadow was sitting in his room when the constantly moving ball of energy burst in with his dog followed by the announcement over the intercom of what was happening.
"Do you have something against the staff or do you just like being a little shit?" Shadow asked from his bed where he was reading their new book for English, Silver Stallion. Sonic who was curled up on the floor beside Chaos simply shrugged while fiddling with a small electronic device. Shadow narrowed his eyes but didn't press the matter. He still wasn't very good at sign language so they had a limited communication between them. Instead, ebony elected to peer at the little device blue was fiddling with. It didn't look like much at all, just a bunch of wires, circuit boards and metal parts that Shadow had no hope of understanding. Ruby eyes watched as gloved covered fingers danced across the device, attaching wires and screwing in small nuts and bolts.
"That's not gonna blow up is it?" Shadow wouldn't put it past the other to make an explosive. He blinked when Sonic gave a breathy laugh, shoulders twitching before he settled down and gave a small shake of the head. Shadow was still a little wary, not sure how much trust he could put into someone who had been admitted to the Emerald Institute. Then again, he was here so he couldn't really talk.
"So what's that thing meant to do then?" Shadow cast aside his book having lost all interest in it a while ago. Sonic sent him a side glance before attaching a final wire and closing the small case. Quickly flicking a switch on the outside revealed that the device was a sort of night-light thing. However, the light wasn't your standard yellow. Instead, it shifted from soft pale blues to bright greens and glowing purples. Shadow couldn't help but be entranced by the sight. He jumped when the younger male thrust the little contraption into his hands, the smile never wavering as he quickly left the room with Chaos in toe.
It wouldn't be until lights out that Shadow would wonder if Sonic had known he hadn't been sleeping well because of how dark his room had been, as dark as the ally-way he'd been down when Maria had been shot and her life-blood had stained his white gloves red. Perhaps Sonic had known but Shadow wasn't going to say anything. Instead, he placed his new saving grace on his bed side table and allowed the multitude of colours dancing on his walls to lull him into a peaceful dreamless sleep.
I really enjoy writing the interactions between Shadow and Sonic because of the language barrier between them. It's so interesting to write a character who doesn't communicate through words but mainly uses facial expressions and gestures. I'm also enjoying how I sneak Chaos into the picture, the idea of him being this overprotective giant puppy is just so appealing!
As always let me know what you think and PM if you have any questions.